Buy a ticket for the Marietta Garden Tour and discover a unique tribute to America: a pool shaped like the Liberty Bell. It's among the unusual and inspiring sights featured on the tour, set for Sunday, June 7, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The tour will highlight eight stops in and around Marietta, including private homes; a bed and breakfast; and a site on Donegal Place at Furnace Road, where the Musselman/Vesta Furnace was built in 1868.

The building and grounds used to be managed by Lancaster County, but the site was recently transferred to Marietta, making it an ideal spot to showcase on the tour, said tour organizer Karen Sullivan.

Volunteers with Marietta Restoration Associations and Rivertownes PA USA have restored the office, which displays various artifacts. Tourgoers can also stroll through shaded gardens and view the ruins of the last of eight anthracite-fired hot blast furnaces built between Marietta and Columbia.

"Across the street used to be an open field, but now it's been seeded with wildflowers," Sullivan said. "I can't guarantee they'll be blooming at that time, but they are beautiful when they do bloom, and people can visit there any time. We have suggested for the tour that people walk down to the Susquehanna River. You can see Chickies Rock and the two bridges from there."

Several of the stops on the garden tour have never been featured before, including a home at 609 W. Market St. This site features native plants, edible herbs and berries and a rock garden with numerous varieties of Japanese maple trees. Other homes feature color hydrangeas, majestic mature trees, flowering plants and numerous types of roses.

The home with the Liberty Bell pool, located at 81 N. Bank St., is a Georgian farmhouse that was built in 1764.

"It's one of the oldest buildings in Marietta, if not the oldest," Sullivan said. The garden features elm and black walnut trees and an outhouse repurposed as a garden shed.

Along with the gardens, the tour will feature two seminars at the Marietta Community House, 264 W. Market St. Members of the Susquehanna Herb Guild will lead programs on "Herbs and Their Many Uses" at 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. The cost of the seminars is included in the tour ticket price.

The Marietta Community House will also host a pork barbecue meal, featuring a sandwich, chips, baked beans, a cookie and a drink. Meals will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis, and Sullivan recommends coming early, as the meals always sell out.

First National Coffee and Coworking, located at 100 W. Market St. inside a historic bank, will be open for a tour rest stop, and people are invited to enjoy refreshments at Mulberry Thrill, located at the rear of the building.

Proceeds from the tour benefit the preservation of the Marietta Community House, which includes two buildings and hosts a variety of events at the site.

Sullivan noted that the garden tour requires support from a large committee of volunteers who serve on the Community House board.

"I'd like to express my thanks and gratitude for their help," she said. "It takes a team to do all of this."

She encourages people to come to the garden tour to see the creativity of Marietta residents and walk away inspired.

"It's great for getting ideas for your own yard," she said. "I think most people who come like the tour for that reason, but there's also the historic nature of Marietta itself and the houses on the tour - that's a big draw."

Advance tickets are available for a discount until 5 p.m. on Friday, June 5. They may be purchased at Mulberry Thrill; Floral Designs of Mount Joy, 1599 W. Main St., Mount Joy; River Road Produce, 1835 River Road, Marietta; and Murphy's Mercantile and Co., 261 Locust St., Columbia. Full-price tickets will be available at the Marietta Community House on the day of the event. The tour will be held rain or shine.